Knife-holder and knife for cutting pile fabrics.



A. MORT N. KNIFBHOLDBR AND KNIFE FOR CUTTING FILE FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23,- 1907.

980,992. I I Patented n- 10,1911

THE mmms PETERS ca, WASHINGTON. 04 c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR MORTON, 0F WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNORTO CROMPTON COMPANY,

OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 10, 1911.

Application filed November 23, 1907. Serial No. 403,430.

and knife forcutting pile fabrics of that class in which the knife enters the race of the fabric and is caused to travel therein,

either by the movement of the knife with relation to the fabric, or by the movement of the fabric with relation to the knife.

The knife-holder may if desired be held in the hand of the operator and used forhandcutting, but said holder is especially adapted for use in a machine in which the fabric is caused to travel through the machine in the form of an endless web or otherwise, and in which the cutting of the fabric is effected by such travel of the fabric with relation to the knife. In such cutting of pile fabrics, and especially in machines of the character referred to, it is necessary, in order thattho knife may follow the contour of the path which it is to travel and may properly cut the pile, that there shall be a certain tension on the knife and knifeeguide. It is also desirable to provide as far as possible against the liability of the knifes penetrating the back of the fabric.

The knife is mounted in a suitable guide which extends some distance beyond the point of the knife, said guide traveling with the knife through the race of the fabric. Said knifeguide is carried by a knifeholder, being usually pivotally mounted on said holder. This knife-holder may either be held in the hand of the operator or may be caused to rest at its rear end upon some.

fixed part of the machine.

Heretofore it has been customary to extend the forward end of the knife-holder beyond the forward end of the knife and knifeguide, and to provide such forward] end of the knife-holder with an adjustable guide or support adapted to rest upon the fabric in. advance of the knife and knife-guide and thereby support the forward end of the knife-holder. With such construction it was necessary, in order to produce the necessary tension on the knife and knife-guide,

to employ a spring arranged to bear on the knife and knife-guide near the forward end thereof and acting to press downward there on. There are various objections to a construction of this character.

One feature of the present invention consists in so constructing and arranging the parts that. the forward end. of the knifeholder will be supported in whole or in part by the knife-guide and knife resting on the fabric, the effect of which will be to bend said knife-guide and knife for a certain dis tance backward from the front end thereof, which bending will serve to produce the necessary tension on said knife-guide and knife, thereby dispensing with the spring formerly employed for that purpose. If desired, this bending of the knife-guide and knife may beproduced by so arranging or adjusting the adjustable guide or support heretofore employed and located in advance of the point of the knife-guide that'said adjustable support will not come in contact with the fabric until after the necessary bend in the knifeguide and knife has been produced. In such case, however, a careful adjustment of the I adjustable support is necessary in order to insure that the knife-guide and knife shall have been sufliciently bent to produce the V requisite tension before the adjustable support comes in contact with the fabric. Moreover with. the employment of an adjustable support so located in advance of the knifeguide, when such support does come in contact with the fabric, the forward end of the knife-holder will then be supported in part by the knife-guide and knife and in part by said adjustable support, which will have the effect to cause the tension on the knife-guide and knife tobe more or less variable.

A further feature of theinvention therefore consists in doing away altogether with the adjustable support in advance of the knife, and so that the forward end of the knife-holder and the parts carried thereby will be at all times supported by the knifeguide and knife resting ,on the'fabric, wherebythe tension on the knife-guide and knife producedby the bending of the same will be in no way lessened or interfered with by such adjustable support, there being in such case only one point of support, instead of two points of support, for the forward end of the knife-holder.

For the proper bending of the knife-guide and knife to produce the tension referred to, it is necessary that said knife guide and knife should stand at an angle to the face of 'the fabric to be cut, and in order therefore to regulate or adjust the tension produced by such bending, it is desirable to provide means for adjusting the angle of the knife-guide and knife with. relation to the fabric, and thereby regulatingthe amount of bend to be produced, and a further feature of the invention consists in providing such means.

While the employment of the features 7 above referred to greatly lessens the liability consists in providing improved means for this purpose.

The invention further consists in certain constructions and combinations of parts to be hereinafter. described and; claimed.

Referringto the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a knife-holder with a knifeguide' and knife carried thereby, embodying the invention and showing the knifeguide and knife held in cutting position and the angular relation thereof to the fabric. Fig. 2 is a corresponding side elevation of the forward end of said knife-holder, and

showing the knife-guide and knife released and turn out of their cutting position. Fig. 3 is a corresponding side elevation of the forward end of said knife-holder on a larger scale and showing the position of the parts in the act of releasing the knife-guide and knife. Fig. 4 is a broken section of the opposite side of the knife-holder and showing the means for holding the knife-guide in the holder. Fig. 5 is a section on the line wm. Fig 6 is a section on the line y-y of Fig. 1.

1 represents the knife-holder, which may be provided at its rear end with a suitable 7 turn onv a stud 5 secured to the holder.

handle2, or withsuitable means for mounting the same in a pile cutting machine. Pivoted to the holder 1 near its forward end is a depending link 3, said link being provided at its upper end with a hub 4 mounted 0 t its lower end said link 3 is provided with a hub 6 which: forms a bearing for a stud or short shaft '1 rigidly secured to and projecting from the knife-guide 8. This knifeguide is U-shaped in cross section or provided with a slot adapted to receive the knife 9.

The free end of the stud or shaft 7 is provided with an annular groove or recess 10, and the head 11 adjacent to this groove is cut away at one side as shown at 12. Se-

cured to the link 3 is an arm 13, the lower free end of which arm is arranged and adapted to enter the groove 10. This construction furnishes a convenient and efficient 1 means for attaching the knife-guide to the knifeholder and detaching it therefrom.

By inserting the stud or shaft 7 in the hub or bearing 6 with the knife-guide turned around from its normal cutting position, andso as to bring the cut away portion of the head 11 in line with the lower end of the arm 13, said head will pass by the end of said armand then by turning the knifeguide back to its cutting position, the end of the arm 13 will be caused to enter the groove 10, and the knife-guide will be thereby securely held in place. When it is desired to remove the knife-guide this may be done by simply turning said knife-guide so as to again bring the cut away portion of the head 11 in line with the end of the arm 13.

I The hub or bearing 6 at the lower end of the link 3 is provided with an upward projection 1 1', and secured to the holder 1 is a spring-catch 15, the hook-end of which is adapted to engage said projection 14:, as shown in Fig. 1, and thereby hold the knifeguide and knife against backward movement under the thrust of the fabric during the cutting operation.

For the purpose of disengaging the catch ,15 from the projection 14:, and thereby releasing the knife-guide, the stud or shaft 7 is provided with a cam-projection 16 arranged in line with the beveled end of the catch 15. With this construction whenever the knife-guide is turned, as it will be if it penetrates the back of' the fabric, thereby turning the shaft 7 in its bearing, such turning of said shaft will cause the cam projection 16 to ride under the beveledend of the catch 15, thereby lifting said catch out of engagement with the projection 14 and releasing the knife-guide and the link 3, and so that said link will be free to turn on its pivot 5. The continued forward movement of the knife with relation to the fabric, or the continued travel ofthe fabric with relation to the knife, will serve to turn said link on. its pivot, as indicated in Fig. 2, the resulting turning of the knife-guide and knife serving to reduce to a minimum the damage to the fabric. 7

In resetting the knife-guide the link 3 is turned on its pivot in the opposite direction until the projection 14 is again brought into engagement with the catch 15. A projection 17 depending. from the holder 1 serves to limit the forward swing of the link 3, and by means of said projection and the engagement of the catch 15. with the projection 14. the knife-guide and knife are held rigid with the knife-holder for and during the cutting operation.

Adjustably secured to the forward end of the knife-holder is an L-shaped guide 18, the horizontal portion of which is arranged to overlie the knife-guide and knife, and in which horizontal portion is formed a slot 19 adapted to receive said knife-guide and knife, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. Said guide 18 is mounted on the holder 1 so as to be capable of vertical adjustment, and said guide may also, if desired, be angularly adjusted. The horizontal portion of the guide 18 is formed to stand at an angle to the knife-guide and knife and so as to provide an angular face 20, as shown, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The adjustable guide 18 differs entirely in its purpose and operation from the adjustable support located at the forward end of the knife-holder in former constructions, and performs several novel and important functions. -In the first place, it will be noted that said adjustable guide 18 is not located in front or in advance of the knife-guide, but thatinstead the knife-guide and knife extend a very considerably distance beyond and in front of said guide. Said guide 18 therefore can never at any time come in contact with the fabric 21, or constitute any support for the forward end of the knifeholder, but on the-contrary the forward end of said knife-holder is wholly supported by the knife-guide and knife resting on the fabric. It will next be noted that said guide 18, located as it is, constitutes means to pre vent the knife-guide from turning on its pivot in a direction to move the forward end of said knife-guide away from the fabric, and. so that no other means for this purpose is required. Thus when the forward end of the knife-guide and knife are brought down into contact with the fabric and allowed to rest thereon, said guide 18 constitutes an abutment which serves to determine the bend which will be produced in the front end of the knife-guide and knife by the weight of the parts, and the tension on the kni e resulting from such bend. In the next place, as will be seen, said adjustable guide 18 constitutes means for producing and maintaining the desired angle of the knife-guide and knife with relation to the fabric, and thus constitutes means for adjusting the tension on said knife-guide and knife. Thus by adjusting said guide upward or downward the angle of the knifeguide and knife with relation to the fabric will be correspondingly changed. This in turn will change the amount of bend produced in the knife-guide and knife and consequently the amount of tension thereon. It will be understood, however, that withthe guide 18 properly adjusted for a given knife-guide and knife there will be practically no occasion for changing the, adjustment thereof so long as said knife-guide guide and knife will remain uniform and: constant, there being nothmg to interfere with or Vary the same.

The adjustment of the guide 18 to adjust the angle of the knife-guide and knife and to vary the tension becomes necessary only when a new and different knife-guide and knife are employed, which may vary in size or resiliency.

As will be seen, with the construction above described, the forward end of the knife-holder is supported by the knife-guide and knife resting on the fabric, and the tension on the knife-guide and knife is produced solely by the bend of the same thereby effected, and there is nothing to interfere with or vary such tension.

A further advantage resulting from such construction is that with the knifediolder supported by the knife-guide and knife, and

by reason of the bend produced thereby, the

forward end of the knife-guide and knife is caused to lie substantially parallel with the fabric for a considerable distance, as shown in Fig. 1, which greatly diminishes the liability of the knife-guide and knife penetrating the back of the fabric. While it is preferred to wholly support the forward end of the knife-holder-by the knifeguide and knife resting on the fabric, it will be understood that a partial supporting of the forward end of theholder by the knife-guide and knife will serve to bend the same and to thus put tension thereon, and that such construction will therefore embody this feature of the invention.

A still further function of the guide 18 is to produce or insure the necessaryturning of the knife-guide to cause the disengagement of the catch 15 from the projection 14,

and it isfor the performance of this func-" tion that said guide is provided with the inclined or angular face 20. If the point of the knife-guide and knife should happen to penetrate the back of the fabric, the fabric as it travels along will come in contact with the angular face 20, which said angular face will then act as a wedge to crowd downward the forward end of the knife-guide, causing it to turn so as to bring the cam-projection 1.6 into action to disengage the catch 15, and release the link 3.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for cuttin pile fabrics comprising a holder, a knie-guide and knife mounted thereon, and a guide rigid with said holder and arranged to engage said knife at a point back of the forward end thereof.

2. A device for cutting pile fabrics comprising a holder, a knife-guide and knife mounted thereon, and an'adjustable guide rigid with said holder and arranged to engage said knife at a point back of the forward end thereof.

3. A device for cuttin pile fabrics comprising a holder, a knife-guide and knife pivoted on said holder, and a guide rigid with said holder and arranged to engage said knife to limit the turning movement of said knife in one direction.

1. A device for cutting pile fabrics comprising a holder, a knife-guide and knife mounted thereon, and a guide rigidly mounted on said holder, said guide having a horizontal portion arranged to overlie said knife. I 5. A device for cuttin pile fabrics comprising a holder, a knife-guide and knife mounted thereon, and an L-shaped guide mounted on said holder, the horizontal portion of said guide being arranged to overlie said knife.

6. A device for cutting pile fabrics comprising a holder, a knife-guide and knife mounted thereon, and aguide rigid with said holder and arranged to overlie said knife, said guide being provided with an inplined face or cam-surface on its forward sic e.

7. A device forcutting pile fabrics comprising a holder, a knife-guide and knife mounted thereon, and an L-shaped guide mounted on said holder, the horizontal portion of said guide being arranged to overlie said knife and being provided with an inclined front face.

8. The combination, with a knife-h0lder provided with a hub or bearing, of a knifeguide provided with a stud adapted to enter said bearing, and means carried by said holder and adapted to engage said stud to detachably hold the same in place in its bearing.

9. The combination, with a knife-holder provided with a hub or bearing, of a knifeguide provided with a stud adapted to extend through said bearing, the projecting portion of said stud being provided with a recess, and an arm carried by said holder adapted to enter the recess in said stud to hold said stud in its bearin 10. The combination, with a knife-holder annular groove, and the head of said stud be-' ing cut away on one side, and an arm carried by said holder and adapted to engage or disengage said annular groove as said stud is turned on its bearing.

11. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, and a rigid projection on said holder against which said link abuts to prevent the turning of said link in one direction.

12. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a projection on said holder to prevent the turning of said link in one direction, and a catch adapted to engage said link to limit it against turning in the opposite direction.

13. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a catch adapted to engage said link, and a cam carried by said knifeguide for disengaging said catch.

14. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide ivoted to said link, a spring-catch ada te to engage said link, and a cam carried by said knife-guide and adapted to disengage said spring-catch.

15. The combination, with a knife-holder, of a link pivoted thereto, a knife-guide pivoted to said link, a projection on said link, a spring-catch carried by said holder and adapted to engage the projection on said link, and a cam carried by said knife-guide for disengaging said spring-catch.

ARTHUR MORTON.

WVitnesses:

W. H. THURsToN, J. H. ,THURSTON. 

